Arnie on Blairoids

Perhaps finally sensing he’s been poodling to the wrong pseudo-manly Republican, U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair has decided to wag his tail for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: The two leaders are planning to create a trans-Atlantic cap-and-trade system for carbon dioxide allowances. The alliance will be announced today at a meeting attended by some 25 major corporate CEOs, who plan to discuss means of moving toward cleaner technologies. The Bush administration would have sent a representative to the gathering, it really wanted to, but — wouldn’t you know it? — there was a scheduling conflict. If established, the trading system would join Europe’s mandatory system, along with a voluntary system created by Northeastern U.S. states, and the Chicago Climate Exchange, a privately run, voluntary national system. No confusion there.